The card game: Yesterday at Men’s Shed a group of us were playing cards. We play ‘blob’. Like most card games it’s a mixture of luck and judgement…
Life’s a game of cards… the same cards are available to everybody… You play by the rules…
The cards are dealt: We look at the cards in our hand. We organise the cards, make an assessment.
I looked around the table. They’re men know well. We’d each been dealt very different hands in life – childhood illnesses, early homelife, education, work opportunities, aspirations and expectations…
We’d play our hand: Some talk a lot, confidently telling you how well they’ll do; others are quieter and cautious. Some are careful and calculating; others act on impulse.
We’ve all got stories to tell – marriage, employment, families… ‘The only woman I wanted to marry became a nun…’, ‘When working on the fishing boats…’ That mixture of luck and judgement.
The Game Analysis: At the end of each game there’s analysis, ‘If only I’d…’ ‘If you hadn’t’. Foolish mistakes are recognised, bad luck or good fortune accepted, skilful calculations praised.
We’re all over 70 and retired. We’re all able to look back and assess successes and failures – work, marriages, money earnt and spent… taking responsibility, blaming others, accepting disappointment, appreciating the good.
The End Game: We look at the scores and declare the winner. The game’s over. The cards are put away. We go home.
On the wall, by the table where we play, is a board with the pictures of Men’s Shed members. Another board has a small plaque remembering each of the members that have died.
Today’s hand: Ecclesiastes 3 speaks of the variety of experiences in life’s card game including: ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end…’
With my God’s help I shall endeavour to enjoy today’s game, whatever hand is dealt me… appreciating the beauty, acknowledging the unpredictable…
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